Monday, July 21, 2008

How to Build a House

One thing I've learned about Dana Reinhardt is that she can write with the best of them! From page one, her newest book, How to Build a House, grabbed me and pulled me in for a great ride. Though not a thriller or a mystery, this is most definitely a page-turner filled with characters that you will not soon forget.

Harper is feeling incredibly lost after a rough divorce has rifted her family. She is so lost that she decides to literally "get lost" and heads to rural Tennessee with a group setting out to rebuild a family's home after a tornado destroyed it. She finds herself living in a rundown motel with an incredibly eclectic group of peers, all of them there with their own personal missions. Harper begins to form friendships, though never meaning to, and also how to love again...and she definitely doesn't mean to do that!

How to Build a House is one big metaphor, though of course you'll have to figure out what the metaphor is by reading it. I really enjoyed the story, loved the characters, though Teddy was my favorite, and I looooved Harper's name. Great choice Ms. Reinhardt! Like her infamous A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life, this title is an excellent YA novel and one that will easily be read by teens and all their friends.

Nice to meet you!

I'm Amanda! I'm a book lover, former librarian, wannabe runner, military wife, and toddler mom. Here you'll find ramblings on great books for all ages and the occasional musing on life. Thanks for stopping by!